


Learning You

by kylarossfiercefive



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: AU, M/M, nerd camp, nerd camp!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-09-28
Packaged: 2017-12-26 14:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylarossfiercefive/pseuds/kylarossfiercefive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twelve students gather to spend a three-week session in the summertime together learning a lot about academia, the world around them, and themselves.<br/>__________________________________________</p><p>CROSS POSTED ON AFF</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdAErnTx3n0) let out the beast [x](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm)**

 

“Summer’s officially starting! This summer, I’m going to be such a beast. You know, before senior year starts.”

 

“What are you talking about,” Lu Han says. His voice doesn’t have any inflections to suggest that he’s asking a question. It’s like he’s had to deal with the driver of the car plenty of times before. Lu Han rolls down the car window and sticks his head out; his red-orange hair blowing in the cool, summer breeze.

 

Minseok pouts as he grips his hands harder on the steering wheel. “I should be asking you that question. Don’t you want to have some fun before school starts up again?” He asks his best friend. They’ve been close for quite a few years. Lu Han always thinks it’s a few years too many.

 

Lu Han leans his head back in the car and rolls the window back up. He changes the radio station from Minseok’s bubblegum pop one to a more relaxed station. Minseok scowls, but doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “We’re going to a freaking _nerd_ camp, Minseok, in case you’ve already forgotten. It’s been approximately two days into summer vacation and we’re going back to school.”

 

Twelve high school students from the state are invited to attend a three-week program at a state university. It’s for educational purposes; the students spend seven hours a weekday in classes. An hour for math, English, science, history, and a foreign language, with two hours at night for their two electives. Lu Han remembers the topics of each this year being statistics, composition, physics, world history, and either Chinese or Korean depending on which one the student would prefer learning. Having attended once before, both Minseok and Lu Han are looking forward to another three weeks learning and having the time of their lives before high school kicks them in the butt again.

 

“First of all, it’s the Learning Academy and this is our second year in attendance, thank you very much. And we’re only there for three weeks. Last year we had so much fun, so I expect the same for this year. Get your facts right, Lu Han,” Minseok reprimands. His eyes don’t leave the road, but he changes the radio station back to the songs Lu Han detests. Lu Han rolls his eyes; how does Minseok know everything, but still seem like an idiot?

 

The car makes a right turn onto the university’s campus. The trees are green, the sun is shining, and the sky is the perfect shade of blue. There aren’t many students on campus during the summer, so the aura is calm and inviting. Lu Han rolls down the window again and smells the flower garden located near the biology building, approximately a quarter mile from the dorms, their first stop.

 

“You remember where the dorms are?” Lu Han asks. Last year, he was the one driving and calling the shots.

 

“Oh, please. How could I forget? I’m the summer fun beast, Kim Minseok.”

 

Lu Han rolls his eyes. Class couldn’t come any sooner.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLXO88Sl12Y) loud [x](http://www.stat.yale.edu/Courses/1997-98/101/catdat.htm)**

 

Wu Yifan wants to plug his ears and they’re only halfway to the public university. “Can you shut up?” He asks his neighbor-slash-friend, Huang Zitao. Yifan loves Zitao, he really does, but Zitao is also the loudest person on the planet. Yifan doesn’t really remember him voluntarily willing to drive Zitao all the way to the university where they’d be studying for three weeks. Then again, he doesn’t remember willingly becoming friends with him either.

 

Zitao keeps singing along to the latest pop hit. Yifan makes a move to turn the radio off, but Zitao blocks him. “I know you like this song, Yifan,” Zitao singsongs. “You have it on three of your playlists on your cell phone!”

 

Yifan rolls his eyes. He definitely doesn’t deserve this.

 

Yeah, Zitao is smart, he admits. But for what Zitao knows in the smart department, he really lacks in the maturity section. Yifan hopes this summer will be the summer Zitao changes, changes enough. Yifan secretly likes Zitao’s foolish antics, just not all the time. And Zitao’s going to be a sophomore come the start of the school year. Yifan will be a senior and ready to exit high school for college. They won’t have much time together once he leaves.

 

Zitao ruffles Kris’s blonde hair. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be good when we get there, I promise. And if not… well, I will be good. I’ll study hard and beat all of the boys.”

 

“There are students more knowledgeable than you, Zitao,” Yifan sighs.

 

“Fine, fine. But I will be good.”

 

“Start now then,” Yifan challenges him. He lowers the volume on the radio and finally settles in for some peace before the coursework starts.

 

Within five minutes, Zitao is singing along, perhaps even louder than he was before. Yifan chuckles, but doesn’t stop Zitao from singing. This is going be a great summer.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo1FI5E6HuM) one summer’s day [x](http://www.history.com/topics/christopher-columbus)**

 

Joonmyun drags his suitcase down the stairs and plops it in the trunk of his new car. He worked long hours to finally pay for his own car and driving lessons. And now begins the summer before senior year; his last year before university. It will also be his fourth summer at the Learning Academy. He’s the first student to ever spend all four summers of a high school career at the camp.

 

His parents had left the night before on a trip to Europe. Joonmyun’s driving by himself for a few hours to the public university. Not that he minds; he likes being independent and free to make his own choices. That’s what he likes the most about school. It isn’t about everyone’s thoughts, it’s about his own.

 

Joonmyun turns the car on and lets it run for a while before pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.

 

He’s ready for the summer to start. It’s what he lives for. He wants this summer to be the best one yet. Kim Joonmyun isn’t getting another opportunity to spend three weeks at his favorite place in the world.

 

He’s ready.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFFberbflbU) chasing the sun [x](http://www.purplemath.com/modules/basirati.htm)**

 

Yixing zips up his suitcase and sits on it in order to fit everything in one suitcase. He realized long ago that he’s bringing way too much stuff for a three-week period, but he wants to bring everything he might possibly need. There’s a saying that you can never be overeducated or overdressed or something, and Yixing thinks it applies for this camp.

 

Yixing’s never really fit in anywhere. His family moves around relatively often and it’s hard for him to make friends. That’s why he found solace in textbooks and schoolwork years ago. He’s always been top of the class and has only left once when his mother made him play basketball for one year. It went miserably and Yixing was ranked second in his class.

 

He sighs. His mother walks in. “You ready to leave?” She asks. Her forehead wrinkles. Yixing knows her mother’s been having a particularly hard time adjusting to her job this year. He desires to change all of that and provide for her instead of the other way around.

 

“Yeah, let’s go. You’ll be fine without me?” He questions. She tries to help him with his extremely overweight suitcase. He shoos her hands away. When they go down the stairs, Yixing almost loses his balance, but regains it before his mother can see.

 

“Oh, I’ll be fine without you, my Zhang Yixing. Your mother is very strong.” She ruffles his dark blonde hair and gives him an award-winning smile. “Don’t worry about me. Know you can always call me any time of the day and I will answer. Anything for my beautiful son. So, ready to go?” She reaches for his suitcase again, but Yixing swiftly swipes the suitcase away before she can lay a finger on it.

 

Yixing raises an eyebrow and stiffly drags the suitcase to the car’s trunk. “You’re driving me there?”

 

“Yeah. You don’t want me to?”

 

“No, no, I do. I’m just surprised.”

 

Yixing doesn’t want to worry about anything when he’s at camp. He’ll be entering his junior year, the most stressful high school year for colleges, apparently. He wants to get any type of head start he can.

 

A head start and a fresh start. It’s all Yixing wants.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh3TokLzzmw) atlas [x](http://geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm)**

 

Baekhyun props his feet up on the seat next to him and reclines so his back hits the car window. His father’s driving and his mother’s taking a quick nap before they arrive at the university for his three-week academic program.

 

Byun Baekhyun isn’t going to lie. The past couple months, he’s been lost in his thoughts. He’s not really sure what’s going on in his life or what’s happening. Sometimes he gets upset for no reason at all; his parents think it’s some combination of hormones and stress. Baekhyun agrees, to a certain extent.

 

It’s like he’s having a midlife crisis in the summer before his junior year. He’s always wanted to be involved in the science and mathematics field all his life. Now, Baekhyun’s not so sure he even wants to do anything related to the STEM field. It isn’t just his future. It’s his self-will to do anything he used to like. It’s gone.

 

He’s lost and he needs a map to get himself out of his mental hurricane.

 

So Baekhyun’s looking forward to the summer ahead of him. He’s going to try very hard to find the spark he had when he was younger. He wants to love learning again.

 

Maybe the students with him will help him with that. The friends he hopes to make will provide an atlas, a source of direction, for him to follow. Baekhyun knows this summer is the summer that can revolutionize his thinking.

 

If this summer doesn’t go as planned, he’ll be stuck in a bottomless hole only spiraling downwards.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWbMz_aBlMU) people like us [x](http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/)**

 

Jongdae tries to grab his water bottle while at the same time pull into Jongin’s driveway. Sehun notices his struggle and promptly hands it to him. “Thanks,” Jongdae says after taking a sip. “Is this Jongin’s house?”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

The three of them attend different high schools, but had worked on an environmental science project together the previous year. They won a national prize for their research. Along with money, a title, and a published article, they all became friends. Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun are going to be freshmen at the start of the school year, and Kim Jongdae will be a junior.

 

Jongdae stops the car, letting Sehun slide out of the shotgun seat to grab Jongin. Sehun’s blonde hair contrasts Jongin’s dark red hair that looks recently dyed. The two of them exchange an embrace and Sehun helps Jongin with his bags.

 

Jongin opens the car door and throws his suitcase in. “Hey, Jongdae! You ready for this summer to start?”

 

“I’ve been ready for so long.”

 

Sehun says, “Maybe you’ll actually get a girlfriend. You know, a hot college student.” He rolls his eyes.

 

Jongdae rolls his eyes and pulls out of the driveway. “Well, same to you, Sehun, also known as Mister-Never-Been-Kissed.”

 

“Are you guys in some abstinence club or something?” Jongin asks as he buckles his seatbelt and reaches to turn on the radio. Sehun immediately sets the navigation system with the address of the university. There’s no way he’s allowing Jongdae to get them lost.

 

“No,” Jongdae says. He almost misses the turn for the highway, causing the car to swerve this way and that.

 

“Does math team count?” Sehun asks.

 

**[~](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU) moonlight sonata [x](http://etcweb.princeton.edu/asianart/timeperiod_china.jsp?ctry=China&pd=Ming)**

 

Chanyeol smiles as they pull into the dorm parking lot. “We made it! It’s like we’ve driven a whole day and now it’s night time. Is that the moon I see?” he muses.

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “That’s the sun, idiot. It's only been, like, two hours.”

 

“Whatever.”

 

Kyungsoo claps his hands twice. “I am _so_ excited for all the things we’ll learn! I’ve wanted to get my hands on statistics for years.” Do Kyungsoo and Park Chanyeol have known each other ever since they were young and playing in mud. Well, for the two of them, they were playing with math equations and picture books. But in the end, it’s all the same.

 

Chanyeol parks his car in the nearest parking spot available. “Hey, look, Kyungsoo. Don’t those kids look like they could be our age?”

 

Kyungsoo rolls down the window and sticks his head out. His brown hair shines in the light. His already big eyes widen even more. “I guess so. I think we’ll find out when we get up to our dorm floor, right?”

 

“Why are you asking me? I have no idea.” Chanyeol turns off the car and opens the trunk. He takes a quick look at Kyungsoo’s less-than-defined muscles. “Do you need help taking your luggage up the stairs?”

  
“You are not funny, Park Chanyeol.”


	2. Chapter 2

~ growl x

 

Minseok unpacks the last of his clothes and takes one look around his room, admiring his cleanliness and organizational skills. Along with his genius mind, he’s very intense about the need for everything to be in it’s proper place. All of the students have single rooms, so Minseok doesn’t have to worry about his organization bothering anyone. Which is good, considering Minseok doesn’t want to be disturbed during his sleep.

 

He hasn’t seen any of the other students yet, save Lu Han. Minseok didn’t think they were early, but he has no one talk to and he knows Lu Han is attempting to unpack in the room next door. He opens his door, making sure his key is securely located in his shorts pocket.

 

Minseok looks around and there still seems to be no one in the dorm yet. He decides to look for the bathroom on the floor. The students are assigned different dorms from last year; Minseok remembers having roommates last year. He shudders at the thought. Yifan wasn’t exactly the cleanest person.

 

He opens the door to the bathroom, hoping for something slightly luxurious. And what he sees is anything but. There are three stalls and a urinal to his left with four sinks on his right. He doesn’t care about that. The showers are right in front of him.

 

There are only two showers.

 

For twelve people.

 

Minseok screams at the top of his lungs. There is no way this is happening. There is absolutely no way there are only two shower stalls for twelve people.

 

Minseok hears the door opening, so he stops his screaming by biting his lip. The boy who walks in looks very mature and seems to tower over him. His hair is a light blonde and his eyes look as if they hold the whole world. And this boy begins to yell too. “There are only two showers. Oh my goodness. This cannot be happening.” The boy doesn’t seem to notice Minseok for a whole minute. “Only two showers. How am I supposed to get myself ready for my day? Or my night?”

 

The boy turns around to inspect the rest of the bathroom and stares at Minseok for a split second too long. “Oh, um, hi. Are you a freshman?”

 

“No…” Minseok’s voice trails off. He’s always been called young-looking for his age. “I’m a senior. Are you?”

 

The boy smirks and shakes his head. It looks like he’s always been called mature-looking. “I’m a freshman.”

 

“Whoa. That’s crazy. I thought you were at least my age,” Minseok says. He knows the boy’s eyes are on him and he blushes a rosy pink shade.

 

“Same to you,” the boy chuckles. He leans against the sink counter and Minseok can’t help but admire his bodily features. “I’m Oh Sehun. Freshman. I know Jongdae and Jongin, who are also in attendance.” Sehun reaches out his hand to Minseok and Minseok shakes it firmly. Minseok tries to shake off the electric feeling he felt when their hands touched.

 

“I’m Kim Minseok. Senior. I know Lu Han, who’s currently unpacking in his room. And um, I hate that there’s only two showers.” Minseok does his best not to look straight into Sehun’s eyes. He’s here to learn, not to fall in love.

 

“I hate that too.”

 

“I think we’ll be good friends.”

 

“I do too.”

 

~ clocks x

 

The last item Lu Han places his in his room is his clock. He bought it last year at the university and kept it as a souvenir. Now, he’s back to using the clock. He quickly sets the alarm for six-thirty AM, considering he’ll need to get up that early for a seven AM breakfast. Lu Han adjusts his mirror and ruffles his red-orange hair to get it perfect.

 

Someone knocks on his open door and Lu Han jumps. “Oh, it’s just you, Minseok. Can you please give me some warning next time?” A head pops out from the doorway and Lu Han realizes it isn’t just Minseok.

 

Lu Han walks from his mirror to the doorway to greet the new boy. “I’m Lu Han, a rising senior. And you are?”

 

“I’m Oh Sehun. I’m a rising freshman.” Sehun brushes his ash-blonde bangs out of his face. “I met your friend, Minseok, in the bathroom.”

 

Lu Han gives a look and raises his eyebrow at Minseok.

 

Minseok doesn’t look Lu Han in the eye. “There are only two showers!” He squeals.

 

Lu Han doesn’t further stretch the point. Sehun says something about needing to unpack all his stuff, so he leaves without protest. Lu Han thinks about the best way to broach the subject of Sehun to Minseok, but he decides that there’s no good way to go about it. “So.” Minseok’s still looking down the hallway and not at Lu Han.

 

“So what?” Minseok asks. He still hasn’t met Lu Han’s gaze once this conversation.

 

“So you like him,” Lu Han says offhandedly. He doesn’t really care that much about Minseok’s love life; he knows all about it. But Lu Han is curious as to how Minseok fell so quickly for someone he met in a bathroom, for starters.

 

Minseok blushes. “No… No, I don’t. Why would you say that?”

 

“Because you’re blushing and I’ve been your best friend since I can remember. It’s not that hard to tell,” Lu Han shrugs.

 

“Oh, shut up, Lu Han,” Minseok says. Lu Han bites his lip to keep from laughing hysterically. Minseok’s flustered and Lu Han finds this hilarious.

 

“Well, you’re the one who likes a freshman. Isn’t that like molestation or something?”

 

Minseok turns red. “If you weren’t stronger than me, I’d totally punch you in your freaking pretty face.”

 

~ good life x

 

Yifan attempts to organize all his clothes into the closet, but somehow manages to haphazardly throw everything in there without a second glance. He closes the closet door and hopes tomorrow it’ll somehow be magically clean. For the moment, he flops on his bed stomach first and groans. The air conditioning in the dorms is the worst. Yifan remembers; it’s the worst part about attending a camp for intellectually gifted individuals. The air conditioning. Otherwise, living in the dorms is really good. Yifan likes having everyone all together. Summer is when Yifan feels he really has a good life.

 

Someone knocks on his door. Yifan doesn’t bother to lift his head to see who it is. “Come in!” He yells. His voice cracks and he hopes no one notices.

 

“Hey, Yifan,” someone says. Yifan recognizes the voice; he’s heard it over previous summers. And this guy wouldn’t make fun of him for his voice cracking, not like Zitao or some of the other boys at the camp. Because oftentimes, mental geniuses are also very, very immature.

 

“Oh, hi, Joonmyun,” Yifan says. He sits up straight. Joonmyun is the smartest person Yifan’s ever met in his entire life, and even after quite a few summers together, Yifan still has some awe every time he sees Joonmyun. In a nutshell, Joonmyun is the person Yifan wants to be, but he never has the willpower to actually be like him.

 

Joonmyun sits on the revolving chair right in front of Yifan’s desk. He runs his fingers through his dark hair. Yifan notices that Joonmyun’s paying more attention to his appearance; last year, his hair was a mess and his clothes always mismatched. Always. But now, he’s like a totally different person on the outside. Yifan has a feeling that Joonmyun is still the same on the inside though. “How was your school year?”

 

“Busy as -” Yifan stops himself. Joonmyun’s not a fan of cursing. “Really busy. What about yours?”

 

“Same here. And next year, I’ll have lots of leadership positions, which will make life even more hectic.” Yifan’s not sure how to respond to this, so he fidgets in his bed until he finds a more comfortable position nestled between the wall and his pillow.

 

Yifan settles with, “Oh.”

 

“Anyway, that’s not really why I came in here.” Joonmyun laughs nervously and so does Yifan. He’s not really sure where Joonmyun’s going with this conversation. “We should gather the twelve of us and have a nice meeting all together, right? To get to know each other and just hang out before brutal classes start, if that makes sense.”

 

“Yeah. I mean, it seems like a good idea,” Yifan says.

 

Joonmyun stands up, pushing the rolling chair closer to the desk. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll call everyone to the dorm floor lounge then?”

 

“You’re the leader.”

 

~ crush x

 

Joonmyun sits on the small wooden table on the left side of the hall lounge. He wants to leave the sofas open to the other students; he decides to sit on the table and be courteous. He honestly doesn’t want a chair. Joonmyun wants to be able to see everyone’s face and the table provides this. He sits on the left side of the table in case there aren’t enough chairs for everyone and someone wants to sit next to him on the table. Joonmyun doesn’t mind.

 

He hears lots of shouting of “Come on, there’s a meeting!” “Which room are we in?” “Who’s even calling us?” from voices Joonmyun doesn’t know. His heart flutters with excitement. This summer is going to be his best yet, he knows it.

 

An adolescent boy walks in the room with the confidence and air many teenage geniuses seem to have. He’s halfway in the room and all of a sudden, he stops in his tracks. “Wait…” his voice trails off. Joonmyun can’t help think about how angelic his voice sounded; it was like dripping honey with extra sugar and soothing qualities. “You look familiar.”

 

Joonmyun steps out of his daydream about this boy’s voice. “I - I don’t know.” Joonmyun thinks for a moment. “Oh, I think I know.” He recognizes this boy’s face, but he’s never heard his voice before. “You’re Kim Jongdae, winner of the Environmental Science Olympiad for two years in a row. And you won that environmental science prize this past fall.” Joonmyun playfully hits himself on the head. “How could I forget?”

 

“I know you,” Jongdae walks closer and closer to Joonmyun and Joonmyun doesn’t know why his heart feels like it’s constricting. “Winner of the National Science Research Prize for the past three years and wanting a four-peat. And you’ve been attending here for four summers now. You’re, like, a science legend at the age of seventeen.”

 

Joonmyun laughs a little to calm himself down. “I’m not a legend.”

 

“You are,” Jongdae gets closer and sits down next to Joonmyun. Jongdae clumsily sits down and has to extend his hand to find a center of balance. Jongdae’s hand clasps onto Joonmyun’s as he finally recovers. Joonmyun feels Jongdae’s warmth and doesn’t want to let go. So he doesn’t.

 

And neither does Jongdae.

 

Joonmyun can feel the tension lingering in the air. He hears Jongdae talking, but he doesn’t comprehend a single word. Instead, he’s looking in Jongdae’s intimidating yet inviting and beautiful eyes.

 

“What?” Joonmyun has to ask when Jongdae stops speaking and a harsh silence falls in the room.

 

Jongdae chuckles and whispers so Joonmyun has to really pay attention to hear, “I said that you’re really handsome for a nerd.”

 

“Common misconception,” Joonmyun laughs along with Jongdae. “Not all nerds are ugly trolls. There are quite a few beautiful ones on the outside too.” He pauses for a second before continuing. “Like you.”

 

Joonmyun bites his lip. He shouldn’t have said that; he knows. Jongdae smirks at him and Joonmyun blushes. He wants to draw his hand away from Jongdae’s, but Jongdae only holds it tighter. Joonmyun feels like his skin is on fire, but it feels good for some odd reason. He’s never felt this way before. Is this love, he wonders to himself.

 

And all of a sudden, Joonmyun feels himself leaning in and Jongdae is too. They get about an inch closer when someone knocks on the door. Joonmyun immediately pulls away even though they barely had gotten closer to each other. “Uh, hey,” Joonmyun says hastily. “Minseok. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

 

“We’re all coming now,” Minseok says, pointing down the hallway.

 

“Ok,” Joonmyun replies. His face is burning and he needs the nearest fire department to put out the fluttering fire in his heart.

 

Jongdae stands up quickly. “I’ll go get the rest of them?” He asks, but it isn’t really a question that needs to be answered.

 

“Ok,” Joonmyun repeats.

 

He’s definitely confused. And he’s reconsidering if this will really be the best summer. More like, the summer his heart gets crushed.

 

~ heart vacancy x

 

Yixing stops right at the door to catch his breath. He regrets overpacking as he wipes the sweat off his face with his t-shirt. The dorms don’t have air conditioning in the stairwells, leaving Yixing to deal with the heat himself. He spends a few minutes panting and fanning himself with his hands. Then he realizes it’s all in vain and opens the door to the dorm floor. He allows the cold air surround his body for a few seconds before entering.

 

Yixing drags the suitcase as best as he can, but only gets halfway down the hallway before collapsing on the floor.

 

“Do you need help?” A boy asks, looking at Yixing as he’s down on the ground. His voice is quite high compared to his manly appearance. The boy’s hair is an ashen-black and his eyes are piercing. “I’m Huang Zitao. I’m a sophomore. Who are you?”

 

Yixing stands up slowly and Zitao takes his suitcase with ease. Yixing tries not to stare. “I’m Zhang Yixing. Junior. Nice to meet you.”

 

“Nice to meet you too. Which room are you in?”

 

They talk the whole time, or rather, Zitao does. Yixing doesn’t mind; he likes hearing the sound of someone else’s voice echoing through his ears. This summer, he thinks he won’t be left alone. Maybe he’ll have friends to call his own.

 

Zitao drops the suitcase in front of Yixing’s door. “I’m going to go find some more people, ok? But Yixing, I will always be your friend.” Zitao smiles and runs to the door to greet another individual. Yixing can’t seem to get rid of the smile on his face. He finally has a friend of his own.

 

He opens the door and someone taps on his shoulder. Yixing turns around to see another boy as masculine as Zitao is.

 

“I’m Yifan. Nice to meet you.”

 

~ no more dream x

 

Baekhyun flips through his linear algebra textbook while he sits cross-legged on top of his bed. He hasn’t met any of the students yet, but he hopes to do so before dinner comes and he has to carry on conversations with them. His hair is a nice dark blonde, and it ruffles when the air vents blow cool air in his face. He reads and reads, letting time pass him by.

 

Someone knocks on his door and Baekhyun looks up from his textbook. “Hi,” he manages to squeak out.

 

“Hey,” the other boy says with ease; Baekhyun envies his confidence already. The boy is tall and handsome, in Baekhyun’s eyes. “I’ve introduced myself to everyone except you.” He walks over to Baekhyun and sits right next to him. “You don’t mind if I sit on your bed?” Baekhyun shakes his head. “Good. I’m Park Chanyeol, a rising junior. And you are?”

 

Baekhyun puts his textbook on the desk in front of him. “I’m Byun Baekhyun, a rising junior as well.”

 

“There’s quite a number of us,” Chanyeol admits.

 

Chanyeol goes on and on and Baekhyun feels comfortable with him and they’ve only just met. Chanyeol even gives time for Baekhyun to formulate responses so it isn’t a one-sided conversation. He tells a joke and Baekhyun can’t help but laugh. Baekhyun puts his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder and laughs.

 

They go on talking for a while until a lull in the conversation comes. Baekhyun doesn’t think and says, “I’ve been feeling really wayward for the past few months. I’m not sure what it is; maybe it’s because I don’t have many real friends or I’m just depressed or whatever. But for once, I truly feel like myself again. Talking with you intellectually and all…” his voice trails off. “Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Chanyeol says. He throws his muscular arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I felt like that for a while in the fall. But I just got into subjects I liked and spent hours studying and wondering. It helps. And you know, talking with others about similar interests.”

 

“I could imagine,” Baekhyun replies.

 

They keep talking about derivatives and other calculus topics. Baekhyun feels peace and passion all at once in his heart. He wants to study hard this summer. The two of them talk until another person knocks on the door. Chanyeol yells, “Jongin!” Said Jongin walks in Baekhyun’s room and looks around with wide eyes. “Baekhyun, this is Jongin. Jongin, this is Baekhyun.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Baekhyun says, standing up from his bed and approaching Jongin.

 

Jongin smiles and says, “Joonmyun wants us to meet in the hall lounge for a meeting.” They both look to Chanyeol for guidance. Chanyeol stands up and is the first to leave the room. Baekhyun trails behind the both of them.

Baekhyun feels secure at last and he’s never felt better.


	3. Chapter 3

~ spinning song x

 

Jongdae’s thoughts are spinning.

 

He might have a feeling as to why.

 

Jongdae’s the only student sitting on the floor, but there’s absolutely no way he’s going to take the spot next to Joonmyun again. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. He’s just confused. He listens to Joonmyun and Yifan talk about life as a student for three weeks. Jongdae’s eyes are fixated on Joonmyun and his golden face. After a few minutes of this, Jongdae tells himself to snap out of it. He shouldn’t be acting like this. He desires to have legendary Joonmyun as his best friend. Jongdae's loved his research for years.

 

He's finally met his role model, Kim Joonmyun. And Jongdae's going to become friends with him; he knows it.

 

He finally pays attention to something Yifan says, which is, “We should get to know each other. Like, say name, grade, and favorite subject in school. Or an interesting fact. Or anything really.” Yifan looks to Joonmyun. Jongdae follows Yifan’s eyes until he remembers his self-will to not look at him. Joonmyun can't see that Jongdae wants them to be scientific best buddies.

 

“Ok. Let’s start,” Joonmyun says. Jongdae does his best to avert his eyes from Joonmyun’s. Yet he feels Joonmyun’s eyes on him and Jongdae looks out the window to avoid any eye contact. “How about you, Jongdae? You can start for us.”

 

Well, it couldn’t get any worse, could it?

 

Jongdae pulls his knees in closer to his chest. All eleven pairs of eyes are on him now. This isn’t at all what he wanted, even if he was class clown back at his high school. “I - my name is Kim Jongdae. I’m a rising junior and probably the best looking guy you’ll ever meet.” Everyone laughs and he feels more relaxed. Maybe he shouldn’t be so worried. “And I’m the winner of the National Environmental Science Olympiad.”

 

He finally looks to Joonmyun, who has a sparkling grin on his face. “Thanks for sharing, Jongdae,” Joonmyun says.

 

Jongdae smiles at him. They make eye contact until Joonmyun looks away to concentrate on the next student, a sophomore named Kyungsoo. When no one’s looking at Jongdae anymore, he pinches his thigh. He knows that he never thinks about his actions, ever. He always says that his brain shuts off the first day of summer and comes back on the last day of summer.

 

Everyone talks about themselves and Jongdae makes notes of who everyone is. He's honestly never been more excited to start school, or a school-like experience.

 

He tries to persuade himself that it's not the opportunity to have a best friendship with Joonmyun.

 

It doesn't really work.

 

~ say my name x

 

Chanyeol carefully listens as Joonmyun introduces himself. He’s last to go. Chanyeol’s making his own mission to memorize everyone’s names right after they introduce themselves. He already knows Kyungsoo, and he seems to have the rest of the names down pat. The second Joonmyun stops talking, Chanyeol stands up and announces, “I can name all of your names already!”

 

“Try it,” one of them dares. Chanyeol remembers his name being Jongdae, but he isn’t positive. Chanyeol takes a deep breath before beginning.

 

He rubs his hands together and says, “Ok, let’s do this.” He walks over to Jongdae, the one who dared him. “You’re Jongdae,” Chanyeol smirks. “And the rest of you: Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, Zitao, Yifan, Minseok, Jongin, Sehun, Lu Han, Yixing, and Joonmyun.” Chanyeol nods and sits down. Everyone claps for him.

 

Zitao elbows him and whispers in his ear, “How’d you do manage to do that?”

 

Chanyeol shrugs. “I just want to get to know you guys, that’s all.”

 

~ wolf x

 

Kyungsoo’s stomach grumbles. All of the boys are walking over to the nearest dining hall for a nice dinner before hanging out and sleeping. Class starts tomorrow and no one wants to be groggy and tired for a first day. The only restriction the boys have is a ten PM curfew, but they can stay up however late they want. Kyungsoo’s sure he’ll end up pulling an all-nighter at least once this session.

 

Yixing looks at Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo turns red. “I’m sorry - uh, I’m just really hungry. Like a wolf when he sees a juicy meal. Yeah… sorry.”

 

The other ten students are laughing and talking amongst themselves. Yixing and Kyungsoo trail a few feet behind them. Yixing throws his head back in laughter. “Don’t worry about it, Kyungsoo. I’m hungry myself. Did you bring any snacks?”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head and looks longingly to the dining hall a hundred or so feet in front of them.

 

Yixing puts his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Ah, don’t worry about it,” Yixing says. “You can eat any of my snacks any time you want. I think I went a little overboard with them. I kind of went overboard with packing in general. So if you need anything, just come to my room and I’ll try to help you, ok?”

 

Baekhyun holds the door open for the two of them. “Thank you!” Yixing exclaims. He lets Kyungsoo go through the door first.

 

“What should I give you in return?” Kyungsoo asks when Yixing enters in the dining hall. Yixing’s a few inches taller than Kyungsoo, so Kyungsoo has to look up to make eye contact with him. Kyungsoo despises his height. He always has to peer up at his peers and teachers. Yixing also has to take less steps because of his long legs; Kyungsoo has to take two steps for one of his.

 

Yixing swipes his meal card into the machine. “You don’t need to give me anything. Your friendship is enough for me. It’s more than enough, actually.”

 

“I’ll tutor you in some subject,” Kyungsoo offers. Yixing patiently waits for Kyungsoo to swipe his meal card.

 

“I’m a year older than you, so that might not really work out,” Yixing suggests.

 

“Fine. Well, if you ever need anything, I’ll be here to help,” Kyungsoo says.

 

Yixing smiles. “Same goes for you.”

 

~ the phoenix x

 

Zitao ravenously eats his pasta. It’s been a few hours since he’s eaten and he wants some strength in his body before practicing wushu for a few hours. Regardless of not being at home, Zitao needs to practice. He can’t lose all of his skills because he’s at a camp to further his knowledge of the world around him.

 

Yifan elbows him. “Stop eating so quickly,” he scolds. Zitao hangs his head lows and takes time to chew every bite.

 

Everyone’s talking all at once and Zitao feels somewhat lost in all the conversation. He doesn’t contribute much; he eats and makes sure there aren’t any crumbs on his plate. Even with the amount of food he got, Zitao still finishes first out of all of them.

 

A silence comes over the table and Joonmyun asks all of them, “So, how was your school year the past year? Tell us in detail. I’ll go first,” he adds, after seeing everyone’s shocked faces. “I enjoyed my junior year. It was really challenging, with adjusting to the workload and all. But I got into a routine. I worked hard on my new research project and my friends are still so supportive of me.” 

 

“No girlfriend?” Lu Han asks.

 

“Oh, no,” Joonmyun replies. Zitao thinks he seems Joonmyun sneak a glance at Jongdae, but he’s not positive.

 

No one volunteers to talk next. “Come on. No one wants to speak?” The table stays silent. Zitao decides to take pity on Joonmyun and raises his hand. “Thanks, Zitao. You guys don’t have to be so nervous. We’re all friends here.”

 

“My year was great!” Zitao starts with a smile on his face. “I learned a lot and practiced a lot of wushu. My teachers were really nice and I made lots of new friends up at the high school. I also hope that next year will be just as wonderful.”

 

Everyone talks a little bit about their freshman year and Jongin and Sehun listen in awe. Zitao zones out of the conversation, thinking about all the memories he has from his first year at high school. But he’s brought back to reality when all of them go silent again.

 

Joonmyun looks around the table. “Hmm. Baekhyun, why don’t you talk next?”

 

Baekhyun sighs.

 

Zitao’s ears perk up. He’s suddenly very interested in what Baekhyun has to say.

 

“I - my year in school wasn’t as lovely as yours, Joonmyun, or yours, Zitao.” Baekhyun stares down at the table; he doesn’t look anyone straight in the eye. “I was struggling with the workload for sophomore year. And I just couldn’t find a passion for anything I did anymore. So it wasn’t great for me. And, I was kind of bullied.”

 

“You can’t be kind of bullied. It’s either you were or you weren’t. Either way, no one should be bullying you, Baekhyun,” Minseok declares.

 

Baekhyun says, “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

 

Everyone talks about how no one should bully anyone and the ethics behind it all. Zitao blocks all the noise again. He’s never really thought about it from another perspective. He’s never experienced bullying; at least, he doesn’t really think he has. Maybe that’s what Yifan was talking about, with him being immature and all; Zitao’s never experienced emotional hardship like that.

 

Zitao vows to make Baekhyun’s summer the best experience of his life. No one should go through anything like that.

 

~ pass me by x

 

Jongin’s lying on his bed, reading the next installment of his favorite fantasy series. Sehun’s sitting up right next to him, playing a game on his cellphone. They sit in unison together. Jongin hears loud chatter and doors opening and closing. It’s like he’s in college years early. He likes the busy tension of the dorms. And he has independence that he’s never experienced before, save the one time he, Jongdae, and Sehun got to go to the nation’s capitol to present their project.

 

Sehun lies down on the pillow with Jongin. “Yo, it’s already eleven. We should probably go to sleep.”

 

“Did you just say ‘yo’?”

 

“Shut up,” Sehun says, sitting back up. “But it is time to sleep, right?”

 

They hear Lu Han shout, “Good night! I’m going to sleep!”

 

“Yeah, I think so,” Jongin replies. He gets up and walks over to his desk to put his book away and set his alarm clock. He knows he won’t be able to sleep tonight; he’s way too excited for classes to start tomorrow. Jongin runs his fingers through his dark blonde hair and sighs. He sets all of his books in order for an early rise tomorrow.

 

Sehun walks to the door. “Good night, Jongin!”

 

Jongin grabs the hem of Sehun’s blue t-shirt. “Why do you sound so chipper at eleven o’clock at night?”

 

Sehun shrugs, but a flush of red creeps up on his face. Jongin can already predict what’s coming next. They’ve only known each other for a few months because of the environmental science lab they were placed in. And Jongin’s seen enough of Sehun’s embarrassing moments from that alone. Yet Jongin knows what’s next and he’s already rolling his eyes at Sehun and his emotions.

 

He wraps his arms around Sehun’s torso and practically tackles Sehun to the ground. “Tell me where you’re going and why you sound so happy. You never sound this excited at this time of day when we’re video chatting each other.”

 

“You jealous?” Sehun asks, trying to break free from Jongin’s wrath.

 

Jongin lets go. “Ew. No. Not really. I’m just wondering. Besides, you’re turning red; I know it isn’t from us play-fighting.”

 

Sehun responds with, “I’m going to just go say good night to everyone.”

 

“Yeah right.”

 

Sehun steps out into the hallway, officially leaving Jongin’s room. “Fine, if you care, I’m going to talk to Minseok for a while before sleeping. Are you satisfied with that explanation?”

 

“Why?”

 

Sehun groans. Jongin isn’t really the one to be sassy or teasing; he prefers being serious and himself. But when Sehun gets like this, Jongin can’t help himself. “I know why, so you don’t even have to tell me, Sehun. You like Minseok. Don’t you? But he’s a senior and you’re a freshman, which is a huge age gap...” Jongin raises his right eyebrow.

 

“If I really wanted to upgrade my phone, I would totally throw this at your pretty face and your perfect body figure,” Sehun says through clenched teeth.

 

“But you won’t,” Jongin says with a smirk. He leaves Sehun in the doorway and closes the window in his room before heading to his bed and ruffling the covers.

 

“I just don’t want him to pass me by, you know? I mean, I have an opportunity to have a really awesome relationship with him.” With that, Sehun runs down the hallway, leaving Jongin extremely confused.

 

~ give me love x

 

Sehun sees Minseok in his dorm room looking at a textbook of some sort. Sehun politely knocks on the door and Minseok turns around in his revolving chair. Minseok’s eye smile makes Sehun want to faint on the floor in an instant. Sehun leans on the door for support. “Hey, Sehunnie!” Minseok exclaims. Sehun almost drops then and there. “Come in, come in. I tried to organize everything, but there might be something I haven’t cleaned.”

 

“It’s fine. Much better than mine,” Sehun says as he inspects the room. Nothing seems to be out of place. He slowly walks toward Minseok, careful not to get too close. “What are you studying?”

 

Minseok puts his right hand in the book to hold the page. He shows Sehun the cover. “I’m getting a head start on statistics. You know, before class starts. Because I’m going to be number one and all.” Minseok stares up at Sehun and Sehun can’t help but notice how Minseok’s dark brown hair falls perfectly before his sparkling, beautiful brown eyes.

 

“Actually, I think you’ll be number two. I’ll be number one,” Sehun taunts. He wants to punch himself in the face. He allowed his bratty side to come out again. All he desired was to show a better, more mature side of himself and he gets his immature, sassy self. A good first impression is thrown out the window.

 

Minseok winks at him and Sehun clutches at Minseok’s chair. “We’ll see about that.”

 

The two of them talk for approximately half an hour about nothing and everything all at once. Sehun discusses his second love besides knowledge, which is dance. Minseok tries out some dance moves, making Sehun laugh hysterically. They tell each other corny science jokes and eat midnight snacks together. Sehun feels loved, a feeling he’s never really felt before except when he’s with his family. Even that’s rare.

 

“You know,” Minseok says while they eat another small bag of trail mix. “You’re pretty cute, Sehunnie.”

 

“Uh -” Sehun’s rendered speechless. “Um, you’re really cute too, Minseok.”

 

Minseok then changes the subject to something more lighthearted, like video games they like to play. They talk and talk until Sehun’s voice gets dry. The clock strikes midnight and Sehun’s phone rings. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Minseok. It was great to talk to you tonight.” More than great, Sehun thinks to himself. It was the best night of my life.

 

Minseok stands up and helps Sehun up. He embraces him and says, “Oh, this night was amazing for me too. Thanks for talking to me.”

 

Sehun takes in Minseok’s body heat and feels electric waves radiate all over his body. Sehun doesn’t want to let go, but he closes his eyes, counts to three, then let’s go. “Good night, Minseok.”

 

“Good night!”

 

Sehun closes the door for Minseok and re-dials the number, considering his hug with Minseok made him miss the call. “Jongin, I actually hate you.”

 

“You need sleep, bro. I’m not going to be the one dragging you from your room to class tomorrow,” Jongin says. He pauses, then continues. “Did you kiss him yet?”

 

“I’m going to destroy your pretty face.”

“Love you too! Good night, Sehun!”

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! I put a nice Xiuhun moment in there, so enjoy :)


	4. Chapter 4

~ sorry sorry x

 

Beep beep beep.

 

Minseok’s alarm blares. He reaches over to turn it off. He gets off his bed quickly and grabs his shower items and clothes for the day. He wants to look presentable on the first day of classes; he doesn’t want his teachers to think he doesn’t take summer classes seriously. He also wants to impress Sehun, but Minseok would never admit it.

 

He locks his door and puts the key in the pocket of the shorts he plans to wear today. He goes over to Lu Han’s room to see if he’s awake; he’s not in his room. Minseok assumes he’s in the shower.

 

On the way to the floor’s bathroom, Minseok checks his shower supplies and realizes he left his soap in his suitcase. He thinks, well, if Lu Han’s in the shower, I can just use his soap. We’ve known each other for years. He won’t mind at all.

 

Minseok opens the door to the bathroom. One of two stalls is open, the one on the right. Minseok puts his shower items in the stall and puts his clothes and towel on the rack. He steps out for a moment to bother Lu Han for soap. Minseok recognizes the yellow towel hanging on the door of the stall; Lu Han always uses the same yellow towel every time he takes a shower. Minseok wonders why he knows this random fact about his best friend, but he shakes off the memory and opens the shower curtain, ready to ask if Lu Han has soap.

 

It’s not Lu Han.

 

Minseok screams in horror.

 

So does Sehun.

 

“Oh my goodness, I am so so sorry, Sehun!” Minseok stares for a second at Sehun’s body, before averting his eyes. “I’m so sorry! I thought you were Lu Han, but you weren’t and I’m so so so sorry!” Minseok shrieks a couple more times.

 

Sehun hides his body behind the shower curtain, only allowing Minseok to see his face. “W-Why do you just assume Lu Han is in the shower?”

 

“He has the same towel as you!” Minseok shouts. Minseok doesn’t say out that Sehun’s body looks beautiful. At least he isn’t going crazy. He takes deep breaths. He shouldn’t be thinking about Sehun’s body. He should be thinking about how much of an idiot he is.

 

To make things worse, Jongin, Lu Han, and Kyungsoo come running in. “What happened?” Kyungsoo asks, a worried expression on his face. His puffy, heart-shaped lips press against each other in frustration.

 

“I forgot soap and I thought I’d borrow from Lu Han, since he wasn’t in his room and Sehun has the same freaking towel he does! So I just opened the curtain and saw…” Minseok’s voice trails off. 

 

Sehun accidentally slips as he takes another step behind the curtain, allowing everyone in the bathroom to see him naked. Minseok wants to cry. Why did this have to happen to him?

 

“Never mind. Just go, guys,” Minseok says. Jongin’s biting his lip to keep from laughing and Lu Han’s lips twitch. Kyungsoo grabs their shirts and drags the two of them out of the bathroom.

 

Minseok turns toward Sehun, who’s still hiding behind the shower curtain. “I’m really sorry, ok? I was irrational. Sorry.”

 

Sehun shakes his head, splashing Minseok with a few drops of water. “No, it’s fine, Minseok. Don’t worry about it. We’re still friends?”

 

Minseok nods. “Of course.”

 

“Do you still need soap?” Sehun hands Minseok a soap bar.

 

“Thanks.” Minseok walks into the shower stall and begins to prepare himself to take a shower. And prepare himself to wipe the memory of Sehun’s body away.

 

“You’re welcome. You can ask anything of me at any time.”

 

Minseok does his best not to tell Sehun that he likes him. They haven’t even known each other for twenty-four hours.

 

Hopefully they’ll become closer friends. Minseok doesn’t want to release him yet.

 

~ everything is pretty x

 

Jongdae walks up to Joonmyun, who is leading all the students to their classroom for all their classes. They won’t be moving around to different classrooms, instead, the teachers move rooms while the students stay in the one room. It’s early at around eight-thirty in the morning. The sun shines down on the boys as they walk. It’s a fine, pristine day. A cool breeze wraps around Jongdae. It feels just like summer should.

 

“Hey, Joonmyun,” Jongdae says. He reminds himself not to ruin this moment, the one moment that could turn them into instant best friends.

 

Joonmyun turns towards Jongdae. His dark hair flips and the sunlight makes some of it shine. “Hi, Jongdae! What’s up?”

 

Jongdae tries to sound nonchalant. “Nothing really. I’m just really excited to start class.” He isn’t lying; he really wants to go and learn. That’s the reason why he’s here in the first place. He wants, he desires to enhance his knowledge and become a more learned scholar.

 

They chat about all the topics they hope to learn in class. Jongdae learns that Joonmyun’s most excited for the foreign language he chose: Mandarin Chinese. Jongdae mentions his excitement about statistics, since that class will greatly help him in the science field.

 

After a particularly amusing story told by Jongdae about Jongin and Sehun blowing up glass beakers in the lab, Joonmyun says, “I wish I wasn’t just thought of as ‘the National Science Research Winner’. I mean, yes, I am the National Science Research winner. But I am more than that. I love leading others. I enjoy watching soccer games on television. I love music and I love singing. I love. I’m a human being just like everyone else.”

 

Jongdae can’t respond. He’s always thought of Joonmyun as “the National Science Research Winner” and honestly, nothing else. He’s never realized that Joonmyun’s just a normal human being like he is, with emotions, passions, and love.

 

He says, “I’m sorry,” because there isn’t much else he can say. Jongdae doesn’t make eye contact with Joonmyun. Instead, he looks at the ground and watches his footsteps.

 

“Don’t be sorry!” Joonmyun says as they walk into the building they’ll be taking their classes in. “You’re one of the few people who hasn’t been so judgmental like that. You talked to me like a real friend, a real human being, in fact. I enjoyed that. I should be thanking you.”

 

Jongdae’s surprised, but he attempts not to show it. “Well, I don’t need to be like a real friend. We should be friends. For real, I mean.”

 

Joonmyun smiles and it takes Jongdae’s breath away. He holds the door open for Jongdae as all the twelve students all file in. “I’d love to be your real friend too.”

 

~ drops of jupiter x

 

Kyungsoo has his eyes on the professor as he walks in a strict manner. The professor is tall, stout, and balding. He has a laptop tucked under his chin. “Hello, class! Nice to see bright, young faces that actually want to learn in my classroom for once.” Everyone nervously laughs, including Kyungsoo. “Welcome to college introductory physics. We’ll be moving at a rapid rate. Take out your textbooks and notebooks if you haven’t done so.”

 

The professor sets up his laptop and brings out a computer presentation to provide visuals for them all to learn by. Jongin taps Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Are we expected to know any physics? Because the only thing I know is e equals mc squared.” Kyungsoo holds in his laughter; the professor seems to be quite strict with everything in his class.

 

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo mutters. He looks around at the others. Sehun and Minseok are surprisingly sitting together, even after the whole shower incident. Kyungsoo shivers just thinking about it. He really didn’t need to see any of Sehun’s unclothed body parts.

 

Jongin sighs. Kyungsoo writes the date on his paper. He feels Jongin’s eyes on him, but Kyungsoo tries to avoid his gaze as much as possible. “Are you even happy to be here?” Jongin asks.

“I – I’m just a very serious person. I don’t show emotion easily,” Kyungsoo stutters.

Jongin chuckles. “I can tell. Not that anyone minds. I’m quite serious too. This society values humor a lot, so seriousness is frowned upon. I wish it wasn’t like that. There are times when being serious is more important than being humorous and vice versa. So I’m really happy that you’re serious all the time.”

The professor taps a ruler on his desk, startling everyone. “Boy in the back row! What’s your name?”

“Jongin,” he stutters.

“Don’t talk during class,” the professor retorts.

When the professor turns his back, Jongin rolls his eyes. Zitao almost explodes in laughter next to him. Kyungsoo has to stifle a giggle. He still wants to be himself, but he’s reconsidering the option of loosening up a bit for the next three weeks.

~ i’ll be your strength x

 

Baekhyun slides his fork filled with lettuce in his mouth. He’s always loved eating raw vegetables for the oddest reason. He likes the crunch and flavor they have.

 

Classes went well in the morning; Baekhyun’s slightly scared of his physics professor, because he knows so much and he makes Baekhyun feel like he knows nothing about the world. Statistics went splendidly and world history was informative. And all the students have bonded over the past hours. Baekhyun thinks they’re all friends; there aren’t really any cliques between them. Baekhyun’s thankful.

 

Yifan taps Baekhyun’s forearm. “Hey, can you pass me the hot sauce?” Yifan says in a low, hushed voice.

 

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow and reluctantly hands over the hot sauce on the table. “Why do you need hot sauce? You have a salad,” Baekhyun mentions.

 

Yifan thanks him and mumbles something about liking his salad hot and spicy. Baekhyun doesn’t push the subject. All of them keep eating until Sehun says, “Yifan? Why are you putting hot sauce on your salad?” Everyone stares at Yifan with the hot sauce bottle in his hand. Minseok’s face turns red with laughter.

 

“I like putting hot sauce on my salad.” Everyone starts laughing. “Seriously, though. Who needs ranch dressing when you have hot sauce?”

 

Everyone still keeps laughing, except for Baekhyun. They’re being judgmental for something Yifan likes on his salad. It shouldn’t matter to them what he likes. Baekhyun stands up without thinking and says, “Don’t make fun of Yifan’s likes! Just because they aren’t what you’re used to doesn’t mean you can act like this!”

 

Yifan pulls on Baekhyun’s shirt, making him sit down with force. “Baek, they’re joking around. They don’t really care about what I put on my salad.”

 

“But -” Baekhyun starts.

 

“Don’t worry about it. If they really wanted to be malicious, I’d defend myself,” Yifan says, putting a lettuce leaf in his mouth. When he’s done chewing, he continues, “They’ll know not to mess with me. And if they mess with you, I’ll defend you too. You need to be strong and I’ll do my best to protect you. But when we leave here… you’ll have only yourself, Baek. I don’t want any of my friends getting hurt.”

 

Baekhyun wants to say something, but words get caught in his throat. Yifan’s brought into a conversation with Chanyeol and Jongin about working out in the university’s gym. Baekhyun attempts to send a telepathic message.

 

Thanks.

 

~ clarity x

 

Zitao opens his notebook and copies the teacher’s notes on the Korean alphabet. “Annyeonghaseyo!” The teacher says. She’s young and fit. Someone nudges Zitao; he doesn’t pay attention as to who. “Welcome to college introductory Korean! There are only…” she pauses to count. “Four of you.”

 

The teacher goes through the alphabet and basic phrases with them. Zitao gets really into the language quickly. He likes the foreign words sliding off the tip of his tongue and into the air. And people understand the words too.

 

The four of them, Yifan, Zitao, Lu Han, and Yixing, all speak with each other in the basic phrases with the last fifteen minutes of class the teacher gives them to practice speaking. They all have accents with varying degrees of severity. “Annyeonghasyeo!” “Lu Han imnida!” “Sarangheyo!” “Yixing-hyung!”

 

When the clock hits three, the four of them leave the classroom and telling the teacher, “Annyeong!”

 

“Do you guys know where we are going?” Zitao asks as they exit the building and look for the other eight boys.

 

“No,” Lu Han says. “But I think Yixing and Kyungsoo wanted to spend some time outside. So maybe we’ll all have a six-versus-six frisbee match or something like that.”

 

Zitao rocks back and forth on his heels. “I think a frisbee match would be awesome.” There isn’t any sign of the eight others, so Zitao opens his Korean language exercise workbook and begins to do some of the questions on the next lesson they’ll learn tomorrow.

 

Zitao gets to the eighth problem out of twenty when he hears Jongdae’s voice, loud and clear, cry out, “Hey guys!” The four of them look up from whatever they were doing and wave at the eight boys walking over to them. “Joonmyun says we should hurry to the dorms so we can play frisbee and card games outside!” Zitao wonders if he’s the only one who hears Jongdae emphasizing Joonmyun’s name.

 

“Let’s go!” Zitao shouts back.

 

The twelve of them run to the dorms as if their lives depend on it.

 

~ smile x

 

Jongin lies in bed with his pajamas on while Lu Han’s sitting in Jongin’s rolling chair. Jongin’s finishing up the book he was reading last night. Lu Han’s reading the latest issue of Popular Science. During writing and composition class, Jongin got bored and spent most of the hour passing notes with Lu Han. Now they’ve gotten pretty close, but also, now Jongin has no idea what’s going on in that class.

 

Jongin looks up from his book and looks out the window. It’s dark outside; Jongin checks the clock. Yeah, it’s late. Eleven o’clock PM.

 

“Hannie, it’s already eleven. I think I’m going to go to sleep,” Jongin says.

 

Lu Han puts down the magazine. “Do not ever call me Hannie again.”

 

“Duly noted,” Jongin replies, rolling his eyes. Lu Han stands up to leave, but Jongin stops him with his next sentence. “Does Minseok like Sehun?”

 

“What kind of question is that?” Lu Han asks. “The answer is obviously yes. Does Sehun like Minseok?”

 

Jongin says, “What kind of question is that?”

 

“Good point.” Lu Han runs his fingers through his messy red-orange hair. Jongin reaches over from his bed to the table to set his alarm clock. “Do you think they’ll even do anything about the little crushes they have on each other? Because, like, they have such a big age gap and whatever.”

 

Jongin shrugs and pulls his blankets closer to him. “I have no idea, Lu Han. But hint at Minseok that Sehun likes him, please? I want Sehun to be happy with him and all that sappy stuff.”

 

“I’ll do my best,” Lu Han playfully vows. Jongin throws a pillow at him.

“Turn off the light and close the door when you leave, yeah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I wrote this chapter really quickly for some odd reason. Thank (or blame) Ara (quixoticism; the author of Autumn Melody :) ) for the Xiuhun shower scene. All ideas in that chapter should go to her; I just wrote it. She told me to spice things up a bit, and that's the idea she came up with.


	5. Chapter 5

~ never say never x

 

Lu Han leans back in his chair. His back is strained from all the hours he’s spent the past two days in a chair. Not that he minds; he loves learning. He just misses sunlight, that’s all.

 

He looks around the room to see what everyone’s doing in the two minutes they have in between classes to rest. Everyone’s basically become very close friends over the past few days. They’re already close like a family is. Lu Han loves the sense of community they’ve built together. Minseok and Sehun are quarreling over which Pokemon game is better. Joonmyun, Jongdae, and Yixing are talking about particle entanglement, and Lu Han’s ready to join in the conversation if it keeps up after class ends. And there’s so many other conversations going on around Lu Han. He feels kind of trapped, if he’s honest with himself.

 

Instead of talking, Lu Han finally decides to do some extra statistics problems to fully immerse himself in the new concepts they’ve learned today. He’s halfway done with the first extra problem when someone taps him on the shoulder.

 

“Lu Han? Can you explain the four tones in Chinese for me? I don’t seem to be really understanding it,” Sehun tells him, almost whipping Lu Han in the face with papers.

 

Lu Han rolls his eyes and takes the papers from Sehun’s hands. “Why don’t you get Minseok to help you?”

 

“Um… I think our level in Chinese is about the same, Lu Han,” Sehun says.

 

“Good point,” Lu Han replies. After a moment, Lu Han continues speaking. “Fine, I’ll help you. On one condition, of course.”

 

The professor walks in, accidentally slamming the door of the classroom on his way in. There’s a sense of urgency in Sehun’s voice as he asks, “What is it?” He’s fidgeting while standing and Lu Han kind of wants to keep Sehun on his toes. But Lu Han knows better than to play with someone’s emotions.

 

The professor starts to fiddle with his computer, signaling the start of class. Lu Han blurts out, “Ask Minseok out. He likes you and you obviously like him. Ok? I’ll start helping you this afternoon.”

 

Sehun is motionless until the professor politely tells him to sit down. Lu Han’s eyes stay on Sehun for around half the class period to try to figure out what he’s thinking. It doesn’t really get him any information.

 

Lu Han spends the rest of the class wondering what he started.

 

~ we on x

 

Joonmyun holds a neon yellow frisbee in his hand. It’s the perfect day for outdoor activities; the sun is shining and the sky is the brightest shade of blue. A light summer breeze blows through the green campus quad. Joonmyun’s shirt ruffles in the wind. Once one of them spots the frisbee in Joonmyun’s hand, they all gravitate over to him. Joonmyun catches Jongdae’s eye and immediately looks away. Joonmyun always finds himself thinking about Jongdae, but he never voluntarily wants to, of course. He’s got enough to worry about.

 

“So, how are we splitting up the teams?” Yifan asks Joonmyun. Also, not by voluntary will, Joonmyun is their leader of sorts for three weeks. And the first week is about halfway over already. It’s going too fast for Joonmyun.

 

Before Joonmyun can say a word, Jongdae butts in. “How about you and Joonmyun choose teams, Yifan? Six on six.”

 

“Fair enough,” Yifan agrees. Joonmyun can’t get in a word otherwise. He’s scared to choose teams, to be honest. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not choosing them. “I’ll be choosing first, if you don’t mind Joonmyun,” Yifan says.

 

“I don’t mind,” Joonmyun says, his voice growing faint. His knees feel weak, but he uses all his strength to keep himself standing. He’s not sure why he’s so nervous. Yet he feels like he’s taking college admissions tests all over again. It’s definitely not a good feeling.

 

Yifan crosses his arms, allowing his muscles to flex in front of everyone’s eyes. “Good.” Yifan rubs his hands together. “I choose Jongdae.”

 

Joonmyun thinks he’s going to collapse.

 

Jongdae walks by Joonmyun and stops for a moment to lay a hand on Joonmyun’s shoulder. “You’re going down, Joonmyun. With me on Yifan’s team, there’s no way you can win this time around. Sorry.” Jongdae tilts his head to the right to challenge Joonmyun. Joonmyun’s eyes stare at Jongdae’s lips until Joonmyun notices that he’s staring.

 

“We’re on,” Joonmyun mutters in Jongdae’s ear.

 

Jongdae smirks and walks over to Yifan’s side. Joonmyun chooses Jongin because of what he’s seen, Jongin has lots of muscles and athleticism, both things Joonmyun lacks. Teams are quickly chosen and Joonmyun’s team gets the frisbee first.

 

Kyungsoo blows a whistle, signaling the start of the game. Yifan throws the frisbee as far as he can to Joonmyun’s team. Jongin swiftly jumps up and catches it. Joonmyun runs to the other end of the campus quad as quickly as possible without having anyone block him. Jongin throws the frisbee over to Joonmyun and Joonmyun almost drops it because the sun shines in his eyes. Joonmyun looks out to see if anyone’s open.

 

Someone’s hand blocks Joonmyun’s vision. Joonmyun turns to see who’s next to him. “Jongdae!” Joonmyun exclaims. His teammates are calling his name, but Joonmyun blocks them out.

 

“Try to throw it. I dare you,” Jongdae says with a signature smirk that makes Joonmyun want to fall over.

 

“I will,” Joonmyun says back. He fakes left, making Jongdae lean to the left, and then throws to Lu Han on his right.

 

They watch the frisbee float in the air and see Lu Han catch it perfectly. “Well,” Jongdae says, clearing his throat. “I guess you won that time around.” Jongdae runs over to try to play defense on Lu Han.

 

Joonmyun feels like his body has been electrically shocked. He stays in place having his thoughts race back and forth until Zitao accidentally bumps into him while trying to catch the frisbee after Joonmyun’s team makes the first point of the game. Joonmyun’s a little lost and confused to say the least.

 

All Joonmyun knows is that he thinks way too much.

 

~ lose yourself x

 

Yifan grabs five DVD cases from his suitcase and casually walks back to the hall lounge with the huge flat-screen television. After a particularly challenging game of frisbee and a fulfilling dinner, the boys are back in the dorms hanging out. Someone, Yifan thinks it was Zitao, suggested a movie night and now they’re choosing a movie. And someone’s popping popcorn in the microwave for all twelve of them.

 

Chanyeol reaches for the movie cases, but Yifan stops him with his open hand. “We’re having a democratic vote for the movie choice, ok?”

 

“You probably only have lame Disney movies,” Sehun scoffs with his arms crossed. There’s a packet of chocolate on his lap that Yifan is eyeing with envy. He can only imagine who gave Sehun the chocolate in the first place.

 

Jongdae returns to the lounge with a huge warm bowl of popcorn. “Did someone say ‘Disney movies are lame’? Because that is so not true.” He hands the bowl over to Joonmyun and sits down in between Baekhyun, who looks ready to fall asleep any second, and happy, fidgety Chanyeol.

 

Yifan ignores Sehun and Jongdae’s comments and quickly presents the movie choices to the other eleven students. To Sehun and Jongdae’s happiness, they all choose a recently released comedy.

 

All of them are hysterically laughing with tears in their eyes within the first ten minutes. Yifan’s usually very serious, but with these kids, he feels oddly wild and full of energy. School often drains him of energy and willpower to do anything but study. Now, he finally feels alive; he has friends who love learning, but also love people. And he wishes he could find more people like the ones in the dorm floor lounge.

 

The last scene in the movie gets everyone worked up. Kyungsoo accidentally throws the plastic bowl of popcorn and the small amount of contents in it at the television. Lu Han kicks Yixing in the shin, but Yixing’s laughing too hard to even care.

 

When the movie ends, everyone slowly, but surely, leaves the hall lounge to get ready for another day tomorrow. Yifan’s left in the lounge by himself in the end to clean up. Yifan sighs and starts to pick up popcorn off of the carpet. He doesn’t mind cleaning up by himself for the eleven other boys. They’re like his family now.

 

He’d never abandon them.

 

~ love story x

 

“I can’t believe we have to write a poem! I’m not even poetic at all. Can’t I just copy one of Shakespeare’s sonnets or something?” Chanyeol groans as he takes out a sheet of paper to begin writing. They only have one hour to craft a poem in any way they want for their English composition class.

 

Minseok replies, “The fact that you’ve actually read one of Shakespeare’s sonnets speaks plainly enough, Chanyeol.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Baekhyun, in his neat, font-like handwriting, writes a note to Chanyeol. “Please don’t tell me you’re planning to copy one of Shakespeare’s sonnets or soliloquies or something like that.” When Chanyeol reads it, he almost snorts.

 

Chanyeol writes back, “No, I’m not going to… but what should I write about in the first place? I have no ideas.”

 

Baekhyun takes longer to respond, mainly because he has to write a poem of his own. Chanyeol practices pen tricks while waiting for a response. “Write about someone you love? Maybe? I’m not sure. Just try thinking about random stuff and you should be able to find a good choice in topic.”

 

It doesn’t really help Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s idea and all. At least, not at first. Time ticks away and Chanyeol doesn’t have any writing on his paper except for his name. He hums love songs to himself to try to get inspiration. He’s feeling slightly desperate when he suddenly gets hit with an idea. He hastily writes as time ticks away.

 

The professor asks for the poems right as the hour ends. After the professor leaves, Baekhyun asks, “What did you write about?”

 

Chanyeol leans back in his chair and sighs.

 

“I wrote about all of you.”

 

~ mirrors x

 

“So, I’ve heard that the gym has wall mirrors like a dance studio,” Yixing says matter-of-factly when he, Kyungsoo, and Zitao walks in. It’s almost the weekend, and Yixing knows he won’t be able to drag himself to the university’s gym to exercise on the weekends. The gym’s air conditioning blasts Yixing with cold air as they walk in.

 

Kyungsoo immediately runs for an elliptical and Zitao picks up some weights. Yixing claims a treadmill for himself and runs until he can barely feel his legs.

 

Loud music plays in the gym and Yixing finds himself singing along. He likes the feeling of being in college already. There’s no one to tell him what to do or how to do anything. He’s himself for once and he finally has friends.

 

He only misses his mother; he always is thinking about what she’s doing back at home and if she’s doing alright without him. They two of them have always been partners-in-crime of sorts.

 

He runs on the treadmill for about an hour until Kyungsoo asks if they can leave. Exercising oddly reminds Yixing of his mother.

 

“That was a great workout,” Zitao says as they exit the gym and head back to the dorms before dinnertime. Kyungsoo’s fanning himself with a mathematics worksheet in an attempt to get perspiration off of his body. Zitao and Kyungsoo talk the whole way there about all the classwork they have to complete before this all ends.

 

Yixing doesn’t want it to end.

 

~ just so you know x

 

Sehun knocks on Minseok’s open door. He still hasn’t met Lu Han’s end of the bargain yet. In all honesty, Sehun’s just scared. What if he doesn’t like me? He thinks and thinks, but with no real action coming to mind. What if he doesn’t want to be my friend anymore if I ask? Maybe it’s better if I don’t. But Sehun’s not one to give up his end of a promise.

 

“Hey, Sehun!” Minseok calls out, not even turning to see who it is at the door. “You don’t have to knock on the door whenever you want to come in, you know. Besides, at this time of night, you’re the only one who actually comes in my room to say hello.”

 

For the past few nights, rather, every night since the session started, Sehun has spent time in Minseok’s room. They don’t do much; they talk about everything that comes to mind whenever they’re together. It’s led to a few tears, but mainly laughs. Sehun wouldn’t give up his nightly talks for the world. Which is why he’s so scared.

 

“Um, ok,” Sehun stammers as he walks in closer to Minseok, who is on his bed reading a magazine.

 

Minseok puts down the magazine and peers at Sehun. “Don’t be so awkward.” When Sehun doesn’t reply, Minseok keeps talking. “Ok, if you haven’t made some stupidly clever comment by now, there’s something on your mind.” Sehun’s debating on whether to run from Minseok as fast as possible or to stay rooted in his current position. Minseok runs his hands through his copper-colored hair. “Spit it out, Sehunnie.”

 

Sehun shakes his head and makes a noise of disbelief. Minseok pats on his bed, signaling for Sehun to sit. Sehun reluctantly sits with his head still shaking. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he mutters under his breath, hoping Minseok doesn’t hear.

 

But he does.

 

“Doing what?” Minseok asks, tilting his head one way; his hair falls over his eyes.

 

Sehun is shaking already. He just wants to kiss Minseok and make his anxiety fall away under Minseok’s lips. “I -”

 

“Come on, Sehun. We’re friends. You can tell me anything.”

 

“I like you and I really wish we could date,” Sehun blurts out as quick as possible to get it over with. “If you don’t like me, I’m really sorry and -”

 

He’s cut off by Minseok’s lips, the ones that take Sehun’s breath away. Sehun’s never been kissed and he’s not sure if he’s putting the right amount of pressure or if it’s supposed to feel this good. But when Minseok pulls away, Sehun’s left wanting more and more.

 

Sehun and Minseok take a moment to catch their breath. “M-Minseok, you didn’t answer my question.”

 

Minseok’s lips purse up and he pecks Sehun on the cheek. “The answer is yes, idiot.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you click the ~ you can listen to the music I chose that fit the character/situation. The x is a lesson I've learned in school or what I think the characters are learning at the time.


End file.
